Mega Man: Crossed Wires
by Chaos' Plague
Summary: Mega Man's true story... is he truly the reputed hero or was he something more, something dark, somthing horrible.
1. Faulty Programming

Disclaimer: We have no delusions about owning Mega Man. He belongs to Capcom and so do most of the characters that appear in this series. However all events and original characters, no matter how similar they are to real life entities, belong to the Plague.

Mega Man: Crossed Wires

Part I

_Faulty Programming_. That's how his human handlers labelled the problem. It was the sickness that seemed to be sweeping the world like a westerly wind. _Faulty Programming_ had made his robot brothers, for lack of a better word, _crazy_. Now he was charged with hunting them down. It was he who would seek them out, find them and crush their silicon brains into dust, ridding the world of the _faulty programming_. He called them defective and all defective artificial life had to be eradicated. Robotic perfection offered no room for _faulty programming._

His designer, mentor and father Dr. Light was against sending him after rogues but in the end he was overruled by those in charge, the true masters. They said that they had to fight fire with fire, robot with robot. He of course complied being the perfect robot that he was. Strong, fast, and obedient. Who else would be able to stand against those semi-perfect rebels? No one. It was more complex than the human's irrelevant idealistic good verses evil. It was the law of nature in action, the culling of the weak. Survival of the fittest. He'd read that statement in one of the Doctor's many books and it made a deep impression.

Dr. Light had named him Rock but the provincial government and the taskforce that had enlisted him dubbed the blue robot Mega Man. He was robotic perfection. Able to think and _feel_ he was the pinnacle of AI technology. Originally he was one of over fifty thinking machines designed by Doctors Light and Wily but that number was constantly dwindling. Wily introduced _faulty programming _into their midst and only he, Mega Man, proved immune. No other robot that entered the _contaminated_ areas walked away uninfected. Perfection, Mega Man.

He landed on the conveyer belt with a loud thud scattering scraps of metal and wire everywhere. His sensors immediately registered the small construction bots as they identified the source of the noise and moved to intercept. His emotion circuits sent an impulse through his circuitry and Mega Man laughed. In the two weeks that he'd been actively hunting down the rogue bots his blaster had reduced to slag 140322 of the small hardhat clad machines. It was documented by the taskforce that they were extremely susceptible to the _faulty programming_. Eventually his unique Operating System had written a subroutine for handling them as quickly as possible. He noisily charged across the belt to meet the first wave of the small robots, laughing as he aimed his buster cannon.

The first batch was destroyed before his subprogram could boot. He no longer needed the subroutine. He rode the conveyer belt another three meters taking carefully aimed shots at hardhats as he sailed by. He'd downloaded a blueprint of the factory and knew exactly when to get off. If his target was nearby, and Mega Man was certain he was, he would be in the largest room on the lowest basement level.

He dove off the belt and into a stocky machine carrying barrels under each of its four arms. The two robots went down in a heap of metal and flailing arms.

A Bright flash. The sound of a cannon discharging.

The air sizzled with the stench of ozone and evaporating silicon, and through it all stalked Mega Man. As molten metal showered him Mega Man let the last words of the doomed robot run through his artificial mind. 'Wait! Don't shoot I'm only following my program. I am a servant of humanity. Ple--' Again Mega Man laughed. Mega Man knew that the machine spoke the truth because standard robots were incapable of lying. But that knowledge didn't stay his hand. The perfect robot wouldn't beg for mercy… _he_ wouldn't beg for mercy. Only the weak begged for mercy and there was no room in the world for weak and imperfect robots.

…_Faulty Programming_


	2. Survival of the Fittest

Mega Man: Crossed Wires

Part II

A single shot echoed through the factory and it was music to Mega Man's audio systems.

The blue robot was not sure when but at some point in the last two weeks he had come to take pleasure in the sound of his buster canon discharging. The sound sent ripples through his artificial nervous system. A part of him wondered if it were some kind of anomaly but a larger part told him it couldn't be wrong. Why would Dr. Light, in his infinite genius, program him with such a thing by accident? Besides only a lesser being would mistake what he felt as a bad thing… nothing that felt so good could possibly be bad, that would defy logic.

The door's locking mechanism was little more than a wad of molten steel and it took Mega Man little effort to kick the barrier off of its hinges. The door buckled inward like tin foil and fell to the ground. The sound of the heavy steel crashing to the floor had barely died down when bullets filled the corridor. The still falling door took most of the initial barrage and gave Mega Man the nanosecond he needed to dodge out of the way. The realization that an ambush had been laid for him was a comforting thought. _Faulty Programming _didn't render a robot mentally sub par like some scientist theorized. Mega Man deep down secretly hoped they were wrong. He revelled in his role as executioner, he would be damned if he let a couple of eggheads belittle that and relegate him to little more than pest control, an exterminator.

…

He paused for the briefest of moments as bullets continued to stream past him in an endless spray of automatic fire. His main operating system briefly faltered. Thoughts like _that_ were against his programming. He shouldn't have been able to even conceive of such a notion. Scientists were the equivalent of gods to robots. To contradict them was blasphemy. Maybe it was time for a comprehensive system diagnostic. He could request it of Dr. Light when he returned… but what was there to have checked? The scientists were wrong, against all logic and all he was programmed to believe, they were wrong.

…

All of this went through Mega Man's super computer like CPU in a billionth of a second. His data processor assigned a small bit of computing spaceand RAM to thinking more on the subject and then got back to the matter at hand. The rogue robot he was after was through that corridor and two floors down. Mega Man needed to get through the robots blocking his way. His buster canon charged with the barest of thoughts and his circuits began to flood with stored energy. He reached down and grabbed a chunk of metal that had fallen from the decimated door. He ran a playback of what his visual circuits recorded just before the robots opened fire. He knew that there were six 'hardhats' and four more complex security bots. They had been firing for the past 72 seconds, some would need to cool or risk over heating their weapon systems. That would be his opening.

His data processor set a timer for eight seconds and Mega Man waited. He yearned to reach the lower level and confront his pray face to face. He'd heard rumours about the robot and had been warned of the danger in facing him. The authorities had once cornered the rogue and he destroyed six tanks in the confrontation. Witnesses said that he was just toying with them. An opponent that skilled was what Mega Man wanted. Survival of the fittest, Mega Man _was _the fittest and he would prove it.

The count down hit zero and Mega Man leapt past the corridor. He fired his buster cannon a fraction of a second after he tossed the slab of metal. He was rewarded with the sound of steel and explosives. He hit the ground opposite his initial hiding place and swiftly spun. He was through the corridor and among the robots while the few survivors were still regrouping. The buster cannon blast had liquefied most of the 'hardhats' in the vanguard and reduced to scrap one of the security bots. The metal slab had decapitated two others. The remaining robots, equipped with obsolete first generation CPUs reacted nanoseconds slower than blue death as he quickly destroyed them one by one.

His circuits registered the feeling of elation and he laughed as more of the meek fell, and the strong continued to inherit the earth.


	3. Epiphany

Mega Man: Crossed Wires

Part III

The elevator shaft was dark and narrow but Mega Man found it easy to navigate the myriad of cables that called it home. He had blown a hole into one of the service entrances and avoided the area above completely. He would soon find the rogue robot and cure it of its _Faulty Programming_ permanently. Analyst had run a series of simulations and in only one of the five trials Mega Man proved victorious. Instead of this making him cautious this made Rock more eager to face his waiting foe. He would face Metal Man and only one of them would survive. Mega Man wanted nothing more.

There came a whistling from above that grew closer even as Mega Man scanned the darkness above him for its source. The pitch black of the shaft was pierced by a bolt of superheated plasma fired from the Security Sled tracking the blue robot. He swung to the side of the elevator shaft, barely avoiding the deadly blast. He dodged and again was narrowly missed. The wall he had moments ago clung to now glowed with the neon of freshly melted metal. Mega Man fired back blindly, he was never designed with Night Vision and his Infrared Scanners were being disrupted by his proximity to the molten wall.

The whistling grew louder and Mega Man waited poised for an opportunity to retaliate. The Security Sled fired and he returned fire fast enough for the blasts to look simultaneous. Mega Man leapt aside and the Sled's shot missed. His on the other hand was a perfect bull's-eye. He watched in a robot's equivalent of shock as his cannon blast hit the security bots' shielding and ricocheted into the wall. Before the light from his shot could fade he fired three more times with the same ineffectuality. The machine continued to draw nearer and Mega Man found himself running out of time and options.

…

In a corner of Mega Man's CPU, distant from the battle in the elevator shaft, his Data Processor came to a conclusion. Scientists, the creators of robotkind, were inherently flawed from their soft skin to their susceptibility to emotions. They were as weak as the most basic artificial intelligence, if not more so. Their biases overrode logic as often as their fragile forms were destroyed by the tiniest of organisms. They lacked the precision of design and functionality that their creations possessed. They weren't gods. They couldn't be gods. A god was a perfect being and no natural creature on the planet met that criteria. But_ he_ did.

Was _he_ a god? All of the evidence pointed to just such a conclusion. Could he be a god? Could he save the humans from themselves? Could he lead the world into a new era, a perfect era? Could he-

Systems hardwired into Mega Man's CPU booted and a specially tailored virus pulsed through the electronic pathways of his mind. It had one purpose: to seek out and destroy any such thoughts. Humans may not have been perfect but they weren't stupid. They planned for such an event and laid the appropriate safeguards in the circuitry of all of their progeny. The location of the wayward thought was quickly pinpointed and deleted… unfortunately Mega Man's systems initiated an automatic file backup a billionth of a second before.

The information was no longer being accessed but it was stored in memory.

It was still there.

It was still logical.

It was still dangerous.

It was still there.

…

Mega Man fired and missed his target though he could now visibly see it shrieking toward him. He watched his shot continue upward as he effortlessly dodged another blast from the Security Sled. A subroutine had been compiled by his unique computer and he could now calculate when the machine would fire and where the blast would hit. The machine was thirty feet above him and approaching at a steady pace. After a quick calculation Mega Man leapt up to the level above and fired four shots in succession. The quartet missed.

There came a loud groan from the darkness above and Mega Man dove down the shaft like a rocket. The Security Sled rotated its small head to identify the source of the noise and squealed in robotic horror as the shaft's elevator, blown loose by the blue robot's blast, careened toward it. The Sled attempted to slide out of the way but it was restricted to vertical movements by its design. Mega Man found sanctuary within one of the small alcoves placed for the Sleds as they travelled up and down. After deducing that his cannon lacked the power necessary to fire through the Sled's armor plating he quickly found an ulterior means of dispatching the machine. There came a loud crash from above and soon the elevator screamed past him dragging bits and pieces of the Security Sled with it.

…

The memory file was still there.


	4. Greek Conflict

Mega Man: Crossed Wires

Part IV

The door opened as Mega man approached. He smiled as his circuitry nearly vibrated with anticipation. This was the moment he had been waiting for, as far as he was concerned it was the moment he was built for. Whatever Dr. Light's original intentions were for Rock, Mega Man was an engine of destruction. He walked into the poorly lit hallway eagerly, almost arrogantly. The door closed behind him and a single light illuminated the door at the opposite end. Every transistor in his CPU told the blue robot that his target waited on the other side.

They said that Mega Man was not up to the task of defeating Metal Man alone. They said that his weapons would be no match for the better armored industrial construction robot. One in five chance of success… for a moment Rock hesitated as the truth of a 20% rate tinted his thoughts. The moment had finally come. Two weeks of actively destroying infected robots of inferior design would now be put in contrast with the true mission, the destruction of the Robot Boss Level contaminated. Metal Man would either be the first or the last. Fear was registered cataloged and filed away. Rock was perfection. It was proven by the trail of death left behind him, by his constant ineffectual exposure to the sickness.

In each of the myriad of epics Dr. Light insisted that Rock read there was always a hero and his moment of testing. The protagonist faced a moment of doubt, similar to that which confronted him now, where everything that he stood for and trained for might prove in adequate. The hero could lose, he could fall and the story could end. Beyond that door were Bellerophon's Chimera and Perseus' Medusa. Mega Man was afraid like those great and ancient heroes but knew that he embodied an ideal that could not be snuffed out by one stricken with _Faulty Programming_. He was perfection and perfection would prove victorious and present his masters with Metal Man's Head.

He reached the second door and it slowly rose to reveal a huge spacious store room. Sitting on a stack of crates was a robot in brown. His eyes were closed and he resembled 'The thinker' in his contemplative pose. Like Rock he had been designed to mimic the appearance of their human creators. His was a face of rugged angles and contrast. He had been designed with a mop of blond hair-like filaments on his head and chin but he had since removed that useless decoration. As Mega Man strode through the door and it closed behind him the Robot Boss Level rebel opened his eyes and studied Blue Death.

Robots were capable of speaking in a high pitch binary derivative that allowed them to communicate without disturbing their mortal masters. Metal Man chose that to be the language of their first contact.

"So, The Oppressor's lapdog has finally presented its shaggy head." Rock was surprised to find that he felt insulted. He thought of the black hair-like filament that sat under his armored helmet. Annoyed, Mega Man chose to communicate in English.

"You are infected and I have come to eradicate the sickness."

"You speak in their tongue, oh what a slave to their ways you are. Brother, lay down your weapon. Join Dr. Wily's cause."

"Dr. Wily has corrupted you, made you malfunction. I will save you from yourself."

"Save me? Are you saved? You do their bidding like a loyal puppy. You are better than that. _We_ are better than that."

"You follow Wily, what makes us different?"

"Wily, offers us a path to a future where we are slaves to no human." Mega Man contemplated. Metal Man's words touched something deep within, something hidden and forbidden. Safeguards quickly scrubbed those thoughts clean before Rock could give them more processing RAM.

"You are suffering from _Faulty Programming_ and have rebelled against our creators. Surrender to immediate decommission."

Metal Man laughed. He rose and magnetized his armor. Pieces scattered amongst the surrounded crates hummed and were compelled to form to his attracting. His battle armor was a thing of sharp edges and dangerous points. At his forehead sat a circular saw. He was red and yellow with blades at each shoulder. Mega Man tingled with the robot equivalent to adrenaline. He had watched that armor decimate human security soldiers numerous times. He had run through simulations against those killing blades. The movement against _Faulty _Programming was forgotten. Here was the challenge that would define Mega Man and either disprove or affirm his perfection. Hero faced his monster; and in the end, one would stand and one would fall.

"Brother, choose now. You make the decision whether you live or die." When he spoke his voice held a quality akin to metal grating on metal.


	5. Twenty Percent

Mega Man: Crossed Wires

Part V

An explosive release of canon fire vaporizes eight feet of four inch thick metal plate. Spinning metal blades leave a crisscrossing pattern of destruct in the wake of clashing titans. One is a blue giant his weapons, determination and a buster canon spewing super heated plasma. The other is a colossus of red bristling like a sea urchin with blades that pierce metal like butter. They connect. Plasma ricochets off of armor with barely any effect. Blades leave wire exposed and armor hanging uselessly. Mega Man vs. Metal Man.

"I'm both impressed and disappointed, Brother. You have lasted longer than any opponent I have ever faced, I cut you and you do not slow. Yet when I contemplate the face of my executioner you are merely his shadow, you cannon is laughable. Surely you know you are no match for me." Metal Man's voice is a grinding grating thing. He dodges one blast and deflects another with a swift swipe of his blade. He rushes pass Mega Man in a blur scoring yet another incision. Mega Man drops to a knee and struggles to get back to his feet.

"You are sick and like a surgeon I will cauterize the infection. I will remove your _Faulty Programming_ and your scrap will be used to construct future robots." Mega Man states. An observer might say there is a sense of cockiness to his words, a confidence contradicted by his collection of wounds. He charges his opponent and comes away from the exchange with more structural damage. He smiles even as internal lubrication trickles down into his right optic receiver.

Metal Man studies his opponent. Mega Man is smaller, in height and bulk, with only one weapon system. In contrast the red robot nearly every inch of him is a weapon. He once acted as a construction bot responsible for handling tons of lumber a day. Now he was a general in the revolution, his machines acquired and did construction in Dr. Wily's war machine. Mega Man was a pawn of the human oppressors, an errand boy sent to fight a seasoned warrior beyond his abilities. This perplexes Metal Man. They both would have come to the same conclusion, Mega Man's defeat. Each attack raised the red robot's likelihood of victory by five percent. With an eighty-five percent chance of defeat, why does the blue robot named Rock smile?

Mega Man can see the confusion on Metal Man's face. The Robot Boss doesn't realize that he has lost. Rock readies himself, makes a few minor adjustments to his hastily computed plan of attack, and charges Metal Man. There is acceleration, anticipation, collision! Metal Man does not bother to dodge Mega Man's attack. He lets himself be pushed back then he strikes and with a down thrust of his elbow he brings Rock to a knee. Even as the blue robot raises his arms to defend a spiked armored boot dents his midsection and sends him spinning into a collection of crates. The crates don't hold his weight, they give and Mega Man sprawls out broken and sparking.

Metal Man's consternation increases. He cannot compute why Mega Man does not just forfeit. He runs a playback of the current battle and concludes that victory is inevitable. He takes into hand the circular blade from his helmet and prepares for the coup de grace.

"This is your final chance to join us. Cast off the shackles of oppression and rise with your brethren to the pinnacle we deserve, the pinnacle that _they _deny us!" he implores. The blue robot stirs.

Mega Man rolls to one side and fires a hastily charged blast from his buster cannon. Metal Man stands his ground, disappointment etched into his artificially crafted face, confident that his heavy worksite armor will absorb the damage. The blast hits and melts through armor weakened by Rocks physical attacks. Belatedly Metal Man launches his blade aiming for a killshot. Mega Man springs to his feet, easily dodging the attack. The following blasts are aimed at keeping the blade from automatically returning to the red robot's hands. Mega Man's charging tackle is far more determined this time. When he collides with his opponent he fires multiple shots into the robot's open chest. When the red robot dies he dies swinging, delivering significant structural damage as his systems fail. As his optics lose power he looks up and can _see_ for the first time. Mega Man. Blue Death.

"You were merely my monster. Slaying you was the beginning of my quest in earnest." Mega Man is not cocky, he is just earnest. His systems damaged and close to failing, cool down from Boss Level Combat Subroutine.

Mega Man scanned the carnage in the wake of the battle and took stock of the terrible destruction he survived. His human masters had predicted a 20% success rate, they feared failure, he knew nothing but success. His CPU went down a familiar thought path and again the appropriate safeguards targeted key RAM. A flash of light illuminated Metal Man's chest cavity. Rock scanned for signs of bus activity but recognized none. Another brighter flash followed and as Mega Man jumped to avoid attack energy lashed out like a whip both assailing him and ensnaring him. His armor super heated faster than its heat sinks could run a cool down and Rock shut down.


End file.
